Las Vegas, NV - Oregon and Arizona, the top two seeds have advanced to the final of the Pac-12 Tournament which will be played tonight in a sold-out T-Mobile Arena. The Ducks, helped by a key three-point play by Dylan Ennis with 22 seconds remaining, turned back a gritty California team 73-65. Arizona handled UCLA behind 29 points and six rebounds by 7-0 Finnish freshman sensation Lauri Markkanen (7'0''-PF-97).

Tyler Dorsey led Oregon with 23 points, hitting 5-of-6 from long distance. 6-9 Jordan Bell grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked five shots. Ennis added 16 points. Grant Mullins kept Cal in the game, shooting 5-of-5 from distance on the way to 23 points. The Golden Bears played almost all of the game without key scorer Jabari Bird who suffered a head injury in the first minute of action and did not return. Oregon played much of the second half without Dillon Brooks who was whistled for back-to-back fouls two minutes into the half and sat with four fouls. Oregon was actually called for five fouls on one Cal possession. Brooks was ineffective in the first half shooting 1-of-9 and rushed some of his action. Oregon needed the contributions from the rest of their squad to pull this tough win out.

Arizona's perimeter defenders, Kadeem Allen, Rawle Alkins and Parker Jackson-Cartwright made the game miserable for UCLA's Lonzo Ball and Bryce Alford. At one point Ball and Alford were 0-of-11 on three-pointers and they finished the game 2-of-16 from deep. The Bruins in total were 4-of-25 on 3's. Meanwhile UCLA's defense couldn't keep up with Markkanen, continually losing him on pick-and-pop situations. Markkanen hit 4-of-10 from deep, all of them good looks. The Wildcats are a different team since Allonzo Trier returned. The 6-5 wing played with energy in contributing 20 points, hitting 3-of-4 three-pointers and added four assists and four rebounds.

Tonight's title game should be a high quality contest with two top teams playing at the top of their games. Ultimately it's just a battle for the conference tournament title. The game will have only a minor effect on both teams' NCAA tournament seeding. Oregon looks headed for a No. 2-seed while Arizona might get bumped up to a No. 2-seed if they win.

Several of the earlier games had notable performances. Colorado's 6-5 Derrick White was particularly impressive in his teams' two games and may have played himself into an invite to the Portsmouth Invitational. The D-2 transfer had 26 points, five rebounds and five assists in the Buffaloes first round win over Washington State. White then did his best in a 92-78 loss to Arizona, scoring 31 points with six rebounds and five assists. White has good size for a primary ball-handler and can score from all three levels.

Arizona State's 6-4 Torian Graham was in the zone against Oregon scoring 32 of his teams' 57 points. Graham had 17 points in the Sun Devils first game. He shot 10-of-20 on three-pointers and added 13 rebounds over his two games. Graham is an athletic scorer who will get looks for the next level.

Oregon's Ennis and Dorsey have both stepped up their games at the event. Ennis only scored seven points in the Ducks win over Arizona State but it was one of his best games of the year as he grabbed 12 rebounds and had five assists. Dorsey has been erratic this year but has shown much more aggressiveness this week. Dorsey brought down nine rebounds against the Sun Devils and has averaged 22 points in two games.

South Carolina is adding some immediate help in its follow-up season to a Final Four run. Wesley Myers (6'2''-G-95), a graduate transfer from Maine, is joining the Gamecocks' program, according to FanRag Sports' Jon Rothstein. The 6-foot-2 guard gives Frank Martin's team an instant infusion of scoring as they look to replace SEC player of the year Sindarius Thornwell and PJ Dozier. Myers 16.9 points per game last year on 43.7 percent shooting, including a 34.3 percent mark from 3-point ra... [read more]

South Carolina is adding some immediate help in its follow-up season to a Final Four run. Wesley Myers (6'2''-G-95), a graduate transfer from Maine, is joining the Gamecocks' program, according to FanRag Sports' Jon Rothstein. The 6-foot-2 guard gives Frank Martin's team an instant infusion of scoring as they look to replace SEC player of the year Sindarius Thornwell and PJ Dozier. Myers 16.9 points per game last year on 43.7 percent shooting, including a 34.3 percent mark from 3-point range. He's the second grad-transfer Martin has picked up this offseason, joining Florida Atlantic's Frank Booker. The pair should help ease the transition from last year's success to a much less experienced team that returns just a pair of starters. Myers, though, doesn't arrive in Columbia without some notable history. Last year, after transferring to Maine from Niagara, was suspended after an altercation with a teammate, according to reports. He and teammate Marko Pirovic argued over locker room music, and the alleged ensuing altercation left Pirovic with a broken jaw, according to reports. Three other Maine players were suspended after telling a team athletic trainer that Pirovic had injured himself in a fall in the shower. Pirovic declined to press charges.Courtesy of: nbcsports.com

Top prospect Marvin Bagley III commits to Duke, to enroll for 2017-18 season - 2 days ago

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Marvin Bagley III(6'6''-F-99) III, who may just be the best basketball prospect in the world that is not in the NBA, announced on Monday night that he will be attending Duke and enrolling at the school for the fall semester. Bagley is the seventh member of Duke's 2017 recruiting class, joining top ten prospects Trevon Duval and Wendell Carter, another five-star recruit in Gary Trent Jr., four-star wings Alex O'Connell and Jordan Tucker, and three-star point guard Jordan Goldwire. The Ariz... [read more]

Marvin Bagley III (6'6''-F-99) III, who may just be the best basketball prospect in the world that is not in the NBA, announced on Monday night that he will be attending Duke and enrolling at the school for the fall semester. Bagley is the seventh member of Duke's 2017 recruiting class, joining top ten prospects Trevon Duval and Wendell Carter, another five-star recruit in Gary Trent Jr., four-star wings Alex O'Connell and Jordan Tucker, and three-star point guard Jordan Goldwire. The Arizona-native picked Duke over USC and UCLA in the end, but he also the likes of Kansas and Arizona also recruited him. Bagley has long been considered the best prospect in the Class of 2018 and one of the best prospects in all of high school. He's also already 18 years old, meaning that he is a year older than what you would consider a typical high school senior. Reclassifying, graduating early and enrolling in college means that the 6-foot-11 combo-forward is eligible to declare for the 2018 NBA Draft. And rest assured, that was the impetus for this decision. He's good enough that he'll likely end up somewhere on every Preseason All-American team that you see this fall, he'll join Michael Porter Jr. and Deandre Ayton as the odds-on favorites to be the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and, at this point, it looks like Duke will once again enter the season as the preseason No. 1 team in the country.Courtesy of: nbcsports.com

Wisconsin got off to a winning start on its five-game trip to New Zealand and Australia on Tuesday, beating an NZ Breakers squad 85-75. The Badgers were tied 57-57 after three quarters but pulled away to win the first of their two games in New Zealand. Wisconsin, the alma mater of current Breakers shooting guard Kirk Penney, will next play a Breakers selection in Tauranga on Thursday before playing three games in Australia on the 12-day trip. Sophomore Brevin Pritzl (6'3''-G) led Wisconsi... [read more]

Wisconsin got off to a winning start on its five-game trip to New Zealand and Australia on Tuesday, beating an NZ Breakers squad 85-75. The Badgers were tied 57-57 after three quarters but pulled away to win the first of their two games in New Zealand. Wisconsin, the alma mater of current Breakers shooting guard Kirk Penney, will next play a Breakers selection in Tauranga on Thursday before playing three games in Australia on the 12-day trip. Sophomore Brevin Pritzl (6'3''-G) led Wisconsin with 27 points, while Ethan Happ (6'9''-F-96) added 17. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard used Brevin Pritzl, Happ, D'Mitrik Trice, Khalil Iverson (6'5''-G/F) and Alex Illikainen (6'9''-F) in a new-look starting formation. The team is building a new frontline around Happ following the departure of big men Nigel Hayes and Vitto Brown. The NCAA allows teams to make exhibition tours overseas every four years. Wisconsin's last overseas trip, to Canada in 2013 when it was also replacing much of its starting lineup, preceded the first of its back-to-back Final Four appearances. The Breakers have won the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) in four of the last seven years. Meanwhile, the Breakers will face the Cairns Taipans, Perth Wildcats and Adelaide 36ers during the ANBL's Blitz preseason tournament from September 7-10 in Victoria. The Breakers will meet the Taipans and September 7 and Wildcats on September 9 at the Traralgon Basketball Centre in the Latrobe Valley, east of Melbourne, then the 36ers on September 10 in Whittlesea, north of Melbourne. "This will be an early hit out for us, with just over a week and a half together but while it might be a touch early for us in our preparation it is a good chance to bond together on the road as much as it is a chance to work on court," head coach Paul Henare said. The Breakers are close to confirming a preseason tour in New Zealand, with the announcement due in the next week.Courtesy of: stuff.co.nz

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